Principal Engineer II

Western Alliance Bank • Columbus, OH

4d • Onsite

About The Position

As a Principal Engineer II, you will provide expert technical authority with domain expertise and broad enterprise knowledge across the technology domains supporting Business Escrow Services (BES). You will lead complex design and delivery efforts, provide architectural direction and set technical standards so solutions are secure, compliant, reliable, and scalable while guiding the adoption of emerging technologies. You will own end‑to‑end solution architecture across application, integration, data, infrastructure, and network layers, with accountability for how these components work together to deliver critical business capabilities. You will be the technical authority and incident manager for BES platforms, where you will lead high‑impact incident response, guide decision‑making, and ensure operational stability. Build the solution design of efforts that can be handed off to lower-level engineers for execution assuring reuse of platforms where possible. Review technical plans developed by lower-level engineers and analysts to assure quality designs which can support the volumetrics of our business partners objectives. Build comprehensive measurement dashboards that give performance insight into key applications of the bank which can feed operational results of our business partners while enforcing IT standards, and may modify or build procedures that support areas of operations across IT. Work independently or partner with architecture team counterparts to lay out the final documentation required for proper, ongoing reference of the given solution to include physical and logical layouts with cross reference to use case models. Own and define end‑to‑end architecture for BES solutions, aligning with enterprise standards, governance frameworks, and regulatory obligations. Serve as senior Delivery Lead, ensuring disciplined execution across multiple initiatives and teams while maintaining alignment to business outcomes. Maintain expert understanding of the BES technical landscape and system dependencies to proactively identify operational risk. Lead incident and escalation calls with urgency, calm authority, and decisive technical leadership. Direct cross‑functional investigation and remediation efforts during incidents, managing diverse personalities and perspectives while keeping focus on resolution. Provide clear, confident communication to senior leadership during high‑impact events. Lead root cause analysis and ensure corrective actions translate into improvements across architecture, processes, and operational readiness. Define and enforce standards for observability, monitoring, runbooks, and support procedures. Lead and influence large, cross‑functional teams through technical authority and credibility rather than direct people management. Coach and mentor engineers across levels, raising overall architectural and operational maturity. Develop clear narratives and presentations for both business and IT audiences to drive alignment and informed decision‑making.

Requirements

• 10+ years of related experience with specific experience in Solutions Architecture or technical delivery leadership.
• Bachelor's degree in related field required.
• Expert‑level knowledge of enterprise architecture, CI/CD pipelines, DevOps practices, and MS Azure technologies and infrastructure.
• Advanced to expert familiarity with the capability model across IT and the applications and infrastructures available for engagement in solutioning across the bank.
• Experience in the design, enhancement, and compliance to all governance frameworks across the IT organization.
• Expertise in C#, ASP.NET, SQL Server, and API design and development.
• Expertise with front-end technologies like Angular, React, Typescript, Rest, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
• Expertise with source code version control systems (Git, Azure DevOps).
• Familiarity with Agile development methodologies (Scrum, Kanban).
• Strong problem-solving skills with the determination and drive to reach resolution or mitigation.
• Advanced to expert knowledge of applicable regulatory and legal compliance obligations, rules and regulations, industry standards, and practices.
• Advanced to expert experience in leading cross-functional teams and managing multiple projects simultaneously with an established expertise in one or more key domains of the bank (Deposits, Loans, Operations or Reporting) with the ability to walk-through top-level process design.
• Capable of working with regulatory partners like the CFPB, OCC and FRB through audits and collaboration efforts as situations arise.
• Expert speaking and writing communication skills.

Nice To Haves

• Masters or MBA in related field preferred.
• Previous leadership experience preferred.
• Advanced knowledge of general Financial Services or Banking is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert technical authority with domain expertise and broad enterprise knowledge across the technology domains supporting Business Escrow Services (BES).
• Lead complex design and delivery efforts, provide architectural direction and set technical standards.
• Own end‑to‑end solution architecture across application, integration, data, infrastructure, and network layers.
• Be the technical authority and incident manager for BES platforms, leading high‑impact incident response, guiding decision‑making, and ensuring operational stability.
• Build the solution design of efforts that can be handed off to lower-level engineers for execution.
• Review technical plans developed by lower-level engineers and analysts.
• Build comprehensive measurement dashboards that give performance insight into key applications of the bank.
• Modify or build procedures that support areas of operations across IT.
• Lay out the final documentation required for proper, ongoing reference of the given solution.
• Define and enforce standards for observability, monitoring, runbooks, and support procedures.
• Coach and mentor engineers across levels, raising overall architectural and operational maturity.
• Develop clear narratives and presentations for both business and IT audiences to drive alignment and informed decision‑making.

Benefits

• Competitive salaries
• Ownership stake in the company
• Medical and dental insurance
• Time off
• Great 401k matching program
• Tuition assistance program
• Employee volunteer program
• Wellness program
• Opportunity to bolster business knowledge, learning the ins and outs of how successful companies operate and manage their finances

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal